Audio/video advertising network

ABSTRACT

Owners of editorial video and/or audio content that is delivered over the Internet or other networks can enroll in an advertising affiliate network. Video and/or audio advertisements, or other marketing messages, are then delivered into the video and/or audio content when the content is accessed by a user. Bypassing of the advertising content may be prevented.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application claims priority under 35 USC §119(e) to U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/665,364, filed on Mar. 28,2005, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to an audio/video advertisingaffiliate network.

BACKGROUND

Video and/or audio content is increasingly being delivered across theInternet and presented to users by a media player. The media player mayoperate to present such content in at least two general ways. First, themedia player can begin playing the content while the content is sentover the network. This is generally referred to as streaming, and theassociated content may generally be referred to as streaming content.Streaming content may present certain advantages to the end-users, suchas reducing the time between the content's selection and display andremoving the need for client-side storage of media files.

Streaming content typically falls into two general categories: broadcastand on-demand. To a streaming server, a broadcast source is usually anyexternal video or audio feed, such as a television or radio station,whereas an on-demand source is usually a multimedia file chosen by theuser.

Broadcast streams are generally entered “in progress” by users. Eachclient connects to a single “pushed” stream so all clients experiencethe same portion of the media at the same time. On-demand streams aregenerally discrete “pulled” multimedia segments, such as individualsongs or video clips that are delivered to each client upon request.Each client starts at the beginning of the clip.

Second, as an alternative to streaming, the content may be completelydownloaded in advance of play by the media player. The contentassociated with this method of operation may generally be referred to asdownloaded content. The download approach may allow for delivery ofhigher-definition content than what the user's network connection mightotherwise support when streaming, and may allow for offline viewing ofcontent. Additionally, allowing the user to download high-definitioncontent in advance of play may reduce the content publisher's relianceon more expensive streaming technologies.

This available content creates video and/or audio advertising inventory.In other words, the available video and/or audio content createsopportunities for the insertion of video and/or audio advertisingcontent. Advertising content is generally any other content besides theeditorial or programming content (which is the content the user desiresto have presented), and is typically content that promotes particularservices or goods. Advertising content may be, for example, previews foreditorial content being offered in the future (referred to as“previews”), an indication of the source of programming content(referred to as “branding”), or promotions to buy or otherwise acquirespecific products or services (referred to as “advertisements”).Specific examples of such advertising content include channel ids,notification of upcoming programming in the playlist, andcross-promotions of similar editorial content.

The editorial video and/or audio content being made available on theInternet (and through other packet-based networks), however, istypically being provided by a number of independent publishers ofcontent and, generally, as a result, the potential advertising inventoryis generally fragmented and there is little or no management of thisinventory. In other words, while the delivery of editorial video and/oraudio content across the Internet by different publishers produces videoand audio advertising inventory, that inventory is generally fragmentedand unmanaged. This means that advertisers that want to use thisadvertising inventory may have difficulties in obtaining access to thisinventory, and to the extent that they can, they may have little controlover the delivery of their ad campaigns in terms of targeting, frequencycapping, session management, ad unit standardization and otherrequirements. In addition, any reporting they receive back may beequally limited.

SUMMARY

In general, systems and techniques are described for implementing anadvertising affiliate network that may allow for the aggregation ofeditorial content from independent publishers, and which may allow theresulting inventory to be uniformly managed. In one implementation,independent publishers are enrolled in the advertising affiliate networkand, during enrollment, an advertising system dynamically generates codetailored to the affiliate, to assist the affiliate in integrating itswebsite into the ad affiliate network. In addition, the system mayverify the operation of the code before the affiliate integrates thecode into the affiliate's website. The advertising system delivers videoand/or audio advertising content, such as advertisements and othermarketing messages, into the editorial audio or video content when theeditorial content is accessed by a user. The advertising contentinserted may be based on a default template or specific template, whichmay or may not be associated with a category of the editorial audio orvideo content. The template describes the desired media/advertisingexperience. The system also may tune the templates by, for example,adjusting the ratio of advertising content to editorial content based onmetrics obtained from auditing messages, and may limit bypassing of thedesired advertising experience, effectively requiring end users to watchboth the editorial content and the advertising content.

More generally, in one aspect, a process includes receiving a requestfor editorial video or audio content is received from a client system.The client system uses a uniform resource locator to generate therequest. The process also includes determining whether the uniformresource locator used by the client system to generate the request wasobtained by the client system from a playlist provided to the clientsystem by a playlist server. Playlists provided by the playlist serverinclude one or more uniform resource locators for advertising video oraudio content and one or more uniform resource locators for editorialvideo or audio content. If the uniform resource locator used by theclient system to generate the request was obtained by the client systemfrom a playlist provided by the playlist server, the process includessending the requested editorial video or audio content to the clientsystem. On the other hand, if the uniform resource locator used by theclient system to generate the request was not obtained by the clientsystem from a playlist provided by the playlist server, the processincludes denying the client system access to the requested editorialvideo or audio content.

Implementations may include one or more of the following features. Forexample, determining whether the uniform resource locator used by theclient system to generate the request was obtained by the client systemfrom a playlist provided to the client system by a playlist server mayinclude sending a playlist status request to the playlist server; andreceiving a response to the playlist status request from the playlistserver, wherein the response from the playlist server indicates whethera previous item in a playlist has been presented by the client system.Determining whether the uniform resource locator used by the clientsystem to generate the request was obtained by the client system from aplaylist provided to the client system by a playlist server mayalternatively, or additionally, include generating a dynamic uniformresource locator for the requested editorial video or audio content; andverifying that the uniform resource locator used by the client system togenerate the request is the dynamic uniform resource locator. Also,determining whether the uniform resource locator used by the clientsystem to generate the request was obtained by the client system from aplaylist provided to the client system by a playlist server mayalternative, or additionally, include determining that the uniformresource locator used by the client system to generate the requestincludes a key value generated by the playlist server; and determiningwhether the included key value is valid. Determining whether theincluded key value is valid may include generating a hash value based onthe uniform resource locator used by the client system to generate therequest; combining the hash value with the included key value and ashared key value to generate a time value; and determining whether thegenerated time value is within a time threshold.

In another aspect, a system includes a playlist server and an affiliatemedia server. The playlist server is configured to provide playlists toclient systems. The playlists include one or more uniform resourcelocators for advertising video or audio content and one or more uniformresource locators for editorial video or audio content. The affiliatemedia server is configured to receive, from a client system, a requestfor editorial video or audio content, wherein the client system uses auniform resource locator to generate the request; and verify that theuniform resource locator used by the client system to generate therequest was obtained by the client system from a playlist provided tothe client system by the playlist server. The affiliate media server isalso configured to send the requested editorial video or audio contentto the client system in response to verifying that the uniform resourcelocator used by the client system to generate the request was obtainedby the client system from a playlist provided to the client system bythe playlist server.

Implementations may include one or more of the following features. Forexample, to determine whether the uniform resource locator used by theclient system to generate the request was obtained by the client systemfrom a playlist provided to the client system by a playlist server, theaffiliate media server may be configured to send a playlist statusrequest to the playlist server; and receive a response to the playliststatus request from the playlist server, wherein the response from theplaylist server indicates whether a previous item in a playlist has beenpresented by the client system. Additionally, or alternatively, todetermine whether the uniform resource locator used by the client systemto generate the request was obtained by the client system from aplaylist provided to the client system by a playlist server, theaffiliate media server may be configured to generate a dynamic uniformresource locator for the requested editorial video or audio content; andverify that the uniform resource locator used by the client system togenerate the request is the dynamic uniform resource locator. Also, todetermine whether the uniform resource locator used by the client systemto generate the request was obtained by the client system from aplaylist provided to the client system by a playlist server, theaffiliate media server may be additionally, or alternatively, configuredto determine that the uniform resource locator used by the client systemto generate the request includes a key value generated by the playlistserver; and determine whether the included key value is valid. Todetermine whether the included key value is valid, the affiliate mediaserver may be configured to generate a hash value based on the uniformresource locator used by the client system to generate the request;combine the hash value with the included key value and a shared keyvalue to generate a time value; and determine whether the generated timevalue is within a time threshold.

In another aspect, a request for a playlist is received from a clientsystem. The request includes an identifier of editorial video or audiocontent to be presented by the client system. A content key and aplaylist identifier of the editorial video or audio content aregenerated. The playlist identifier includes the content key The playlistis also generated and sent to the client system. The playlist includesthe playlist identifier of the editorial video or audio content and oneor more identifiers of advertising video or audio content to bepresented to the client system in addition to the editorial video oraudio content. A request for the editorial video or audio content isreceived from the clients system. To generate the request, the clientsystem uses the playlist identifier of the editorial video or audiocontent such that the request for the editorial video or audio contentincludes the content key. The included content key is verified as validand the requested editorial video or audio content is sent to the clientsystem in response to verifying that the included content key is valid.

Implementations may include one or more of the following features. Forexample, generating the content key may include generating a hash valuebased on the identifier of the editorial video or audio content includedin the request for the playlist; and combining the hash value with ashared key and a first time to generate the content key. Verifying thatthe included content key is valid may include generating a hash valuebased on the identifier of the editorial video or audio content includedin the request for the playlist; combining the hash value with theshared key and the content key to obtain the first time; and determiningwhether the obtained first time is within a predetermined amount of asecond time. The first time may be the time at which the request for theplaylist is received; and the second time may be the time at which therequest for the editorial video or audio content is received.

The identifier of the editorial video or audio content in the requestfor the playlist may include a uniform resource locator for theeditorial video or audio content; and generating the playlist identifierof the editorial video or audio content may include appending thecontent key to the uniform resource locator for the editorial video oraudio content. Additionally, or alternatively, the identifier of theeditorial video or audio content in the request for the playlist mayinclude a unique content identification value; and generating theplaylist identifier of the editorial video or audio content may includedetermining a uniform resource locator for the editorial video or audiocontent based on the unique content identification value and appendingthe content key to the uniform resource locator for the editorial videoor audio content.

In general, implementations of the described techniques may includehardware, a method or process, and computer software on acomputer-accessible medium.

The details of one or more implementations are set forth in theaccompanying drawings and the description below. Other features will beapparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a system forimplementing an advertising affiliate network in an Internetenvironment.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of content categories that may be used inthe advertising system shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example where one or more templates are associatedwith the content categories.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a template.

FIG. 5 illustrates a process that may be performed by the registrationcomponent shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 shows an example of code that may be generated for a piece ofcontent registered by an affiliate.

FIG. 7 illustrates a resulting display that is generated in a browser bythe code shown in FIG. 6.

FIGS. 8A-8D illustrate examples of webpages that are generated by theregistration component to register the affiliate, register theaffiliate's content, and to verify and provide generated code to theaffiliate.

FIGS. 9A-11B illustrate various implementations of the operation of thesystem shown in FIG. 1 when delivering editorial and advertisingcontent.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In general, the following discussion describes systems and techniquesfor implementing an advertising affiliate network. Owners of editorialvideo and/or audio content that is delivered over the Internet or othernetworks can enroll in the advertising affiliate network. Video and/oraudio advertisements, or other marketing messages, are then deliveredinto the video and/or audio editorial content when the content isaccessed by a user. The systems and techniques may allow for theadvertising inventory created by independent publishers of editorialcontent to be aggregated and may allow for the aggregated inventory tobe well-managed by controlling the entire editorial experience from adsto content and by providing a central mechanism for campaign allocation.

For example, in one implementation, a content provider may enroll withthe system as an affiliate and during enrollment map its audio or videocontent to one or more categories and/or templates. During enrollment,the system generates code that the affiliate uses in its website inplace of the URL that directly references the affiliate's audio or videocontent. The system then verifies that the code properly integrates theadvertising or other marketing messages with the affiliate's content.When the affiliate's audio or video content is selected by an end-user,the code sends a request to a playlist server for a playlist, ratherthan connecting directly to the affiliate's audio or video content. Thisrequest includes information about the selected content, such as acategory of the content or an identification of the content. When theplaylist server gets the request, an appropriate template is locatedbased on the category of the content. The template is used to selectadvertising and other marketing content and to form a playlist thatincludes the advertising and other marketing content along with theaffiliate's content that the end-user selected.

The templates define the amount of advertisements or other marketingmessages to be included with the editorial content, along with theirplacement relative to the editorial content, in an integrated fashion.Thus, the playlists generated from the templates may form a completeexperience that is editorially intact, and that meets advertisingchallenges of the advertisers.

In addition, in some implementations, direct access to the editorialcontent of an affiliate by end users may be prevented. In other words,the system may operate to prevent access to the content without firstrequesting a playlist from the system. This may prevent end-users frombypassing the media experience, including any advertising and marketingmessages defined by the template.

System Overview

Referring to FIG. 1, an example of a system 100 for implementing anadvertising affiliate network in an Internet environment is shown. Thesystem 100 may support streaming content and/or downloaded content, andincludes a client system 102, the Internet 104, an affiliate system 106,and an advertising system 108.

The client system 102 or server systems 106 and 108 may be implementedusing, for example, a general-purpose computer, a personal computer(PC), a special-purpose computer, a workstation, a server, a personalvideo recorder, a media center PC, a device, a component, or otherequipment or some combination thereof capable of responding to andexecuting instructions. These components may receive instructions from,for example, a software application, a program, a piece of code, adevice, a computer, a computer system, or a combination thereof, whichindependently or collectively direct operations, as described herein.

In general, the client system 102, the affiliate system 106, and theadvertising system 108 can communicate with one another over theInternet 104. While network 104 is described as the Internet, network104 more generally is a packet-based network and may include Wide AreaNetworks (WANs), Local Area Networks (LANs), analog or digital wired andwireless telephone networks (for example, a Public Switched TelephoneNetwork (PSTN), an Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), or aDigital Subscriber Line (xDSL)), or any other wired or wireless networkincluding, for example, a corporate LAN. Network 104 may includemultiple networks or subnetworks, each of which may include, forexample, a wired or wireless data pathway.

The affiliate system 106 generally makes available editorial videoand/or audio content to a user of, for example, client system 102.Affiliate system 106 includes an affiliate website 106 a and anaffiliate media server 106 b. The affiliate website provides access to,for example, Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) based web pages. Thesewebpages allow a user of client system 102 to select editorial videoand/or audio content for presentation on the client system 102.

The affiliate media server 106 b stores the available editorial videoand/or audio content. In addition, in some implementations, theaffiliate media server 106 b uses mechanisms implemented in system 100to prevent client systems from directly accessing the editorial content.In other words, the affiliate media server 106 b uses the mechanisms toinsure that the client systems are accessing the editorial content usinga playlist provided by playlist server 108 c, rather than accessing theeditorial content directly. In general, in such an implementation, whenthe affiliate media server 106 b receives a request for editorialcontent from a client system, it uses the mechanisms to verify that theURL used by the client system to request the editorial content wasobtained by the client system from a current playlist provided byplaylist server 108 c, instead of from somewhere else (e.g., a searchengine). Enabling the affiliate media server 106 b to verify the URL wasobtained from a current playlist may prevent end users from bypassingthe media experience, including any advertising and marketing messages.Techniques for accomplishing this are described below with respect toFIGS. 9A-11B.

The client system 102 executes a web browser 102 a that may be used toaccess the web pages available from affiliate website 106 a. Thus, auser of client system 102 may use browser 102 a to browse the webpagesprovided by affiliate website 106 a. Some of those webpages containselections of the editorial video and/or audio content available fromaffiliate media server 106 b. A media player application 102 a-1 isembedded in one or more of those webpages and used to present theeditorial video and/or audio content, along with other content such asadvertising video and/or audio content. Windows Media® Player fromMicrosoft Corporation and the RealPlayer® from RealNetworks, Inc. areexamples of media players that may be embedded in the webpages.

The advertising system 108 is a hosted platform for enrolling affiliates(such as affiliate 106) and for managing, selecting, and insertingadvertising and marketing messages into or around editorial content ofthe affiliates. In general, the advertising system 108 manages theadvertising inventory produced by registered affiliates according tocategories of editorial content, such that affiliates register theircontent in particular categories, advertising campaigns are allocatedagainst categories of editorial content, and the overall user experienceis defined on a per category basis. Other implementations may use otherlogical groupings of editorial content to manage the advertisinginventory and user experience.

The advertising system 108 includes a registration component 108 a, anadvertising media server 108 b, a playlist server 108 c, an ad selector108 d, an inventory manager 108 e, and an ad auditor 108 f. Thesecomponents generally allow the advertising system 108 to perform variousfunctions, such as: (1) Registration of affiliate systems; (2) Planning,creation, and management of targeted advertising campaigns (campaignmanagement); (3) Selecting advertising content for insertion within andaround content; (4) Managing the end-user experience: the type andsequence of message delivery (experience management); and (5) Businessintelligence: campaign performance analysis, audience analytics, andconfirming and counting ad deliveries.

The registration component 108 a enables the registration of independentpublishers of editorial video and/or audio content (such as affiliatesystem 106) into the advertising affiliate network. An independentpublisher uses the registration component to register their website 106a, their editorial video and/or audio content, and pertinent informationregarding the content (as described further below).

The inventory manager 108 e enables campaign management by allowingadvertising operations managers to specify, for example, business rulesassociated with an advertising campaign. The business rules regarding anadvertising campaign generally define the parameters under which theassociated advertising content should be presented, such as one or morecontent categories of the editorial content, the timing that theadvertising content should be presented (for example, at night ormid-afternoon), the percentage of the population to whom the advertisingmedia should be presented, the frequency with which the advertisingmedia should be presented, the number of times the associatedadvertising content should be presented in a period of time, and/or thegeographic location(s) of the users to whom the advertising media shouldbe presented. The inventory manager 108 e also may provide foradvertising inventory forecasting and reservation. Techniques and asystem for defining campaign business rules, as well as performingadvertising forecasting, is described in U.S. application Ser. No.11/088,262, titled “Managing Advertising Inventory,” filed on Mar. 24,2005, and incorporated herein by reference.

The ad selector 108 d selects particular pieces of advertising contentbased on the campaign business rules and information contained inrequests to the playlist server 108 c for playlists.

The playlist server 108 c enables experience management by allowingadvertising operations managers to specify, for example, business rulesassociated with the overall user experience, such as the amount ofadvertising content (e.g., a ratio of advertising content presented toeditorial content presented or an absolute amount of advertisingcontent), what type of advertising content is presented (e.g., branding,advertisements, preview), and the order that advertising content andeditorial content is presented. In general, when the playlist server 108c receives a request for a playlist from a client system, such as clientsystem 102, the playlist server uses the user experience business rulesto determine what type(s) of advertising content should be included inthe playlist, to request selection of particular pieces of advertisingcontent of the appropriate types from the ad selector 108 d, and to forma playlist including the selected advertising content and the editorialcontent. Thus, the advertising system 108, rather than the affiliatesystem, defines the type, placement, and amount of advertising content.In this way, each playlist, and the associated elements, both HTML andfull screen, may form a complete experience that is editorially intact,meets the advertising needs of advertisers, and is relevant to theclient at that point in time.

In the advertising system 108 shown, the user experience business rulesare maintained by the playlist server 108 c as templates. The templatesdescribe the user experience business rules, such as the order and typesof advertising or other marketing content that should be shown with theeditorial content, possibly as well as any elements (for example, bannerads) to be shown in a surrounding HTML page. For example, a template mayindicate that an advertisement is to be shown first and then theeditorial content is to be shown.

The templates in system 108 are associated with one or more categoriesof editorial content. For example, advertising system 108 may maintain asports category, with a football category and soccer category underneaththe sports category. A single template may be associated with eachcategory, or there may be different templates associated with eachcategory. In some cases, there may be more than one template associatedwith a category, and the affiliate may be given the ability to selectone of the templates when it enrolls. Alternatively, or additionally,multiple templates for a category may be chained together (as describedfurther below with respect to FIG. 3) such that one template is used fora certain number of requests from a particular client system, and thenthe next template in the chain is used. Techniques and a system fordefining user experience business rules is described in U.S. applicationSer. No. 11/023,638, titled “Advertising Content Delivery,” filed onDec. 29, 2004, and incorporated herein by reference.

In one implementation, the template(s) associated with a particularcategory are used for all affiliate content. That is, the advertisingoperations managers create a template for a category, and template isapplied across all affiliates for content in the category. In such animplementation, when a request for a playlist is received, a templateassociated with the category of the editorial content is used by theplaylist server 108 c in forming the playlist. Thus, if a request forfootball content from a first affiliate's website is received, thefootball template is used and, if a request for football content from asecond affiliate's website is received, the same football template isused.

In other implementations, however, the template created by theadvertising operations manager for a category is a default template thatis initially used when an affiliate registers. Over time, the templateis adjusted by the playlist server 108 c such that the template isspecific for a particular affiliate. In other words, a default templateis initially associated with and used for content in a particularcategory, but that default template is adjusted or tuned during systemoperation so that it becomes specific to the particular affiliate. Insuch an implementation, when a request for a playlist is received, atemplate associated with both the category of the editorial content andthe particular affiliate is used by the playlist server 108 c in formingthe playlist. Thus, if a request for football content from a firstaffiliate's website is received, the football template associated withthe first affiliate is used while, on the other hand, if a request forfootball content from a second affiliate's website is received, thefootball template associated with the second affiliate is used.

In particular, in one implementation, auditing messages (described belowwith respect to ad auditor 108 f) are used to obtain information aboutthe tolerance of an affiliate's audience for advertising content. Theratio of advertising content to editorial content defined in the defaulttemplate is then adjusted to better approximate the tolerance of theaffiliate's audience for advertising content. In general, audiencemembers have a particular tolerance for the amount of advertising theywill accept before they discontinue consuming editorial content from asource.

In such an implementation, the auditing messages include informationabout the user's behavior when advertising and/or editorial content ispresented, and from this information, audience drop-off rates can bemeasured. This drop-off rate can then be fed back to adjust the amountof the advertising content to be provided in general on subsequentrequests for content.

Additionally, or alternatively, the auditing messages may be used toobtain an estimate of the number of audience members during one or moreperiods of time. This information may then be used to adjust the ratioof advertising content to editorial content on a time specific basis. Ingeneral, the higher the number of audience members during a time period,the higher the ratio can be set for that the time period and vice versa.This may be particularly true for streaming content that is providedonly during a certain time period because the higher audience number mayindicate a higher popularity of the content. This may more generally betrue (and therefore applicable, for example, to on-demand content)because the higher number of audience members may mean that the averagetolerance for the time period is higher. An example of this might beadvertising into sports content at a time when sports are popular suchas on Superbowl Sunday. Advertising at that time might be more toleratedthan at other times.

In some implementations, an affiliate may be allowed to estimate itsaudience's tolerance for advertising content (e.g., by providing asuggested spot load or ratio of advertising content to editorialcontent) either during enrollment or when registering a particular pieceof content, and this initial estimate is then used initially in thedefault template(s). Then, as audience metrics are collected throughauditing messages, the playlist server 108 c tunes the template(s) sothat the ratio of advertising content to editorial content is optimal interms of reduced audience drop-off rates. In other implementations,additional information can be taken into account when tuning the amountof advertising, such as, for example, other metadata about the contentor site, RSS or ATOM syndication information, MP3 tags, the number ofreferring links, or the audience levels for the site as a whole or for asubgroup of the site. By this mechanism, an imprecise estimate of anaudience's tolerance for advertising content may be initially used, butit is then adjusted to better align the spot load to the audience'sactual tolerance, allowing advertising goals to be more closelyaccomplished.

Ad auditor 108 f enables business intelligence by providing advertisingoperations managers insight into, for example, the campaign performance,audience metrics, and audience behavior. Ad auditor 108 f also mayprovide advertisers with information about which ads were actuallydelivered to users, along with information about the user's actionswhile the advertising content was presented. To enable such functions,the client systems (such as client system 102) may send auditingmessages for presented advertising content to the ad auditor 108 f (andmay send auditing messages for presented editorial content as well). Ingeneral, the auditing messages indicate that a particular piece ofadvertising content (or editorial content) was presented to the user,and may indicate the user's behavior while the advertising content (oreditorial content) was being presented (e.g., whether the browser 102was minimized, whether the user paused the media player 102 a-1, orwhether the media player 102 a-1 was in full screen mode). The auditingmessages also may contain other information. For example, whenadvertising content is being audited, the auditing message may includethe category of the editorial content associated with the advertisingcontent being audited, an identifier of the associated editorialcontent, and the time that the advertising content is being presented.When editorial content is being audited, the auditing message mayinclude the category of the editorial content presented, an identifierof the editorial content, and the time the editorial content waspresented. The auditing messages may contain a unique identifier for theuser, such as a globally unique identifier (GUID).

This information may be used to insure advertisers are properly billed,and affiliates are properly paid, for advertising content that isactually presented to the end-user. This information also may be used tounderstand an affiliate's audience to tune the template used for anaffiliate as described above and/or to determine the effectiveness of anindividual creative (that is, a particular piece of advertising content)as well. Auditing messages and techniques related to auditing messagesare described in U.S. application Ser. No. 11/023,631, titled “Auditingof Content Related Events,” filed on Dec. 29, 2004, and incorporatedherein by reference.

Generally, a user of client system 102 uses browser 102 a to access awebpage from affiliate website 106 a. The webpage includes one or moreselections of editorial content available from affiliate media server106 b. When the user selects a piece of editorial content, the affiliatewebsite sends a webpage to browser 102 a that includes the embeddedmedia player 102 a-1 and code for causing the embedded media player 102a-1 to send a request for a playlists to playlist server 108 c. Therequest includes information such as an identifier of the selectedcontent (e.g., a uniform resource locator (URL) for the content or aunique content identification value), a category of the selectededitorial content, and an affiliate id (which uniquely identifiesaffiliate system 106) and a unique identifier of the client system 102(e.g., a GUID). When the playlist server 108 c receives the request, theplaylist server 108 c determines the appropriate template based on thecategory, and/or based on other parameters such as the particularaffiliate id (e.g., if default templates are tuned on a per-affiliatebasis) and/or the GUID (e.g., if multiple templates are chainedtogether). For example, the content category may be “football.” So, whenthe request is received, a template associated with the footballcategory is selected. If there is more than one template for thefootball category, then the one the affiliate selected when he or sheregistered may be selected. Alternatively, or additionally, theaffiliate id may be used to select a football template that has beentuned to be specific to the affiliate and/or the GUID may also be usedto select the appropriate template in a chain of templates for thecategory. The affiliate id is also used for tracking which advertisingcontent and the amount of advertising content that is shown with theaffiliate's editorial content so that the affiliate can be appropriatelypaid a portion of the advertising revenue.

The playlist server 108 c uses the selected the template to determinethe type (e.g., advertisements, branding, or previews) and otherparameters (e.g., length) of advertising video and/or audio content toinclude in the playlist. The playlists server 108 c then sends a requestto ad selector 108 d to select particular pieces of advertising video/oraudio content that meet the type and other parameters of advertisingcontent needed. The ad selector 108 d then selects the particular piecesof advertising video and/or audio content and returns a URL or otheridentifier for the selected pieces. The playlists server 108 c thengenerates the playlist, which includes the URL(s) of any advertisingcontent, and the URL(s) of the editorial content. The playlist server108 c then sends the playlist to the media player 102 a-1.

The media player 102 a-1 then presents the advertising and editorialcontent according to the playlist. The media player 102 a-1 does so byaccessing the advertising content from advertising media server 108 band the editorial content from affiliate media server 106 b. Also,before, after, or during the presentation of advertising and/oreditorial content, the media player 102 a-1 sends auditing messages toad auditor 108 f. These auditing messages are then used to compilecampaign or audience metrics and/or to tune one or more templatesassociated with the affiliate.

In some implementations, direct access to the editorial content of anaffiliate by a media player may be prevented. In other words, themechanisms may be implemented in system 100 to prevent the client system102 from accessing the editorial content without first requesting aplaylist from the playlist server 108 c. This may prevent end users frombypassing the media experience, including any advertising and marketingmessages defined by the template. Techniques for doing so are describedfurther below with respect to FIGS. 9A-11B.

Referring to FIG. 2, shown is an example 200 of content categories 202that may be used in advertising system 108 to manage advertisinginventory and templates. The content categories 202 include U.S. News202 a, International News 202 b, Sports 202 c, and Food 202 d. TheSports category 202 c includes the subcategories NFL 202 c-1 and NBA 202c-2. When affiliates enroll and register editorial content, theycategorize the editorial content into one of the categories (e.g.,Sports). Advertising campaigns are then allocated against the categoriessuch that the advertising content associated with a campaign is shown inconjunction with editorial content associated with a particularcategory.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, one or more templates 304 are associated witheach category 302. As shown in the example, Template A is associatedwith U.S. News 202 a. Accordingly, Template A is used to form theplaylist used for content categorized in the U.S. News category 202 c.Also as shown, multiple templates may be associated with a category. Forexample, Template B, Template C, and Template D are associated with theSports category 202 c. Multiple templates may be associated with acategory, for example, to provide affiliates with different options forthe user experience (for example, some affiliates may choose to selecttemplates with less advertising content than other affiliates) and/or toallow advertising operations managers to select templates that help meetadvertiser goals. For example, a template that places more advertisingcontent with editorial content may be used during times when there aremore campaigns allocated than available inventory, while a template thatplaces less advertising content with editorial content may normally beused.

Multiple templates also may be associated with a category to providediffering user experiences each time a user selects editorial contentfrom a particular affiliate (such as affiliate system 106). That is,multiple templates may be associated with a category and chainedtogether such that after a template has been used a particular number oftimes for a particular user, the next template is then used. Forexample, a set of two templates may be associated with a particularcategory of content, with the first template defining that anadvertisement is played before the editorial content and the secondtemplate defining that only the editorial content is presented. Thefirst time a particular user selects content in the category from aparticular affiliate system, the first template is used such that anadvertisement is presented and then the editorial content is presented.The next time the particular user selects editorial content in thecategory from the same affiliate system, the second template is usedsuch that only the editorial content is presented. As described brieflyabove, advertising system 108 may track and control which template isused for a particular user/client system using a GUID and an affiliateid included in the requests for playlists.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a template 400. Template 400 includes atemplate name 402 (Template B) and a template description 404. Thetemplate 400 also includes a chaining section 406 that specifies howtemplate 400 is chained to Template C. In particular, chaining section406 specifies that template 400 is to be used once, and then Template Cis to be used. Template B also includes a user experience section 408that defines the type, order, and length of content pieces to beincluded in a playlist based on template 400. Section 408 includes twosections, a content type section 408 a and a length section 408 b. Thecontent type section 408 a indicates the type of content and lengthsection 408 b indicates the length of the corresponding content. Theorder of the entries in section 408 designates the order of the contentpieces.

In particular, section 408 a-1 indicates that a preroll advertisement isto be presented first, and section 408 b-1 indicates that the prerolladvertisement has a length of 30 seconds. Section 408 a-2 indicates thatthe editorial content is to be presented next. Section 408 a-3 indicatesthat a postroll advertisement is to be presented after the editorialcontent, and section 408 b-3 indicates that the postroll advertisementhas a length of 15 seconds.

Affiliate Enrollment

FIG. 5 illustrates a process 500 that may be performed by registrationcomponent 108 a to enroll affiliates and register their content. First,an affiliate is registered with the advertising network (502). Thisregistration generally includes the registration component 108 acollecting business related information from the affiliate, such as anaddress or other contact information as well as information needed toappropriately pay the affiliate for advertising content shown inassociation with the affiliate's content (e.g., financial informationsuch as a bank account and a social security number or an employeridentification number).

Once the affiliate is registered, the affiliate's editorial video and/oraudio content is registered (504). To that end, the registrationcomponent 108 a collects information about each piece of content thatthe affiliate wants to register. This information includes, for example,a location (e.g., URL) of the content, a category of the content, andthe format of the content. Such information allows a generated playlistto include advertising content that is relevant to and in the sameformat as the editorial content. When registering a piece of content,the affiliate, for example, selects a category for the content frompre-designated categories used by advertising system 108 to manageadvertising inventory (e.g., content categories 202). Regarding formats,the affiliate designates the format that the piece of content is encodedin, such as Real® Media or Windows Media®. This allows advertisingsystem 108 to select advertising content that has the same, or at leastcompatible formats, and allows for the playlist to be generated in anappropriate format (e.g., playlists are generated in SynchronizedMultimedia Integration Language (SMIL) for Real® Media content andAdvanced Systems Format (ASF) for Windows Media® content). Doing sohelps to prevent a discontinuous user experience, for example, bypreventing selection of advertising content that has a format that isincompatible with the media player used to present the affiliate'seditorial content. Alternatively, for affiliate's that use a singleformat (or if advertising system 108 is designed to only allow oneformat per affiliate), the registration component 108 a may collect theinformation regarding the format of the affiliate's content whenregistering the affiliate (502).

Once the affiliate has registered a piece of content, the registrationcomponent 108 a generates integration code (such as HTML and/orjavascript) (506) to be inserted into the affiliate's web page for thecontent so that, instead of the affiliate's content being presented byitself, a playlists including the advertising content is retrieved fromthe advertising system 108 and, as a result, the advertising content andaffiliate content is presented. In general, when a user selects contentfrom an affiliate web page, the integration code generates a request tothe playlist server 108 c that describes the particular content. Thisrequest may include information about the content, the category or genreof the content, an identifier of the particular affiliate, and,depending on the implementation, a reference to the content itself,among other parameters. As described above, in response to this request,the playlist server 108 b returns a playlist that includes selectedadvertising content and the affiliate's content.

The code is generated so as to properly integrate the affiliate'scontent with the advertising content. To that end, the code may bedynamically generated based on variables provided by the content owner,or created by the system, when the affiliate registers the content withthe ad affiliate network. Such variables may include, for example, thetype of content (e.g., Real® Media or Windows Media®), a networkaffiliate id generated by the system, the genre or category of thecontent, and the location of the content (e.g., URL of the content).Some implementations may include more or less than these variables, orother variables, depending on what information is needed to properlyintegrate the affiliate's content with the advertising content. Forinstance, information about the manner in which the content is presented(e.g., on demand or broadcast), and whether the content is presented inan embedded media player or in a stand alone media player may becollected and used when generating the code. An example of code that maybe generated is shown in FIG. 6, below.

To insure that the code provided to the affiliate is working properly,the registration component verifies the operation of the generated code(508). To that end, the registration component 108 a may require theaffiliate to view content in a playlist generated according to the codeto insure that advertising content can be properly inserted into astream that includes the affiliate's content. The playlist may includecontent that contains particular information, which then must be enteredby the affiliate. For example, the playlist may include a video thatdisplays a first confirmation code, the affiliate's content, and thenanother video that displays a second confirmation code. The affiliatethen may be required to enter the confirmation codes, and theregistration component 108 a then confirms that the confirmation codesare correct. In this way, the affiliate is required to verify thatadvertising content can be properly inserted by entering informationthat could only have been determined by watching a properly configuredset of content. Properly integrating the code into the affiliate'swebsite may be as simple as providing sample code or it may include aniterative process designed to insure that multiple web elementssynchronized with the video or audio content are properly displayed.

Once the integration code has been verified, this code is provided tothe affiliate (510). The affiliate can then place this code into theaffiliate's webpage such that, when a user of a client system selectsthe affiliate's content, the affiliate's content and appropriateadvertising content is presented to the user.

FIG. 6 shows an example of code 600 that may be generated for a piece ofcontent registered by an affiliate. This code generates a display suchas that shown in FIG. 7.

The code generally includes a video portion 602 and a banner portion604. In the video portion 602, the <div> tag 602 a with the “id”attribute 602 b equal to “MediaPlayerDiv” is generated to define asection that includes a media player. The <embed> tag 602 c embeds themedia player in the MediaPlayerDiv section to show the audio and/orvideo content. The “type” attribute 602 d in the <embed> tag 602 c witha value equal to “application/x-mplayer2” indicates that the WindowsMedia® Player is to be embedded. The “type” attribute 602 d is set tothis valued because the format of the content makes the content mostappropriately presented by Windows Media® Player.

The “src” attribute 602 e has a value equal to a URL that points to theplaylist server 108 c and that requests a playlist from the playlistserver 108 c (by calling the “getPlaylist” function of the playlistserver 108 c). The URL is generated based on parameters such as theaffiliate network id, category of the content, type of streamingtechnology used (that is, the content format), and the location of thecontent. For example, the “nwid” parameter 602 f is set equal to thenetwork affiliate id, the “level” parameter 602 g indicates the categoryof the content (which in this case is “FOOD”), and the “responseType”parameter 602 i is set to the file format for the playlist, whichdepends on the content format (in this case, the playlist is in “ASX”format because the content is in a corresponding “wmv” format). Also,the “mswmext” parameter 602 j is set to “.asx” so that the playlist isgenerated with a file extension of “.asx.” The “content” parameter 602 hhas a value equal to the URL for the affiliate content (in this case“http://wms.scripps.com/foodtv/ironchefamerica/ica-judging.wmv”).Although the “content” parameter 602 h includes the URL of the affiliatecontent, in other implementations this may not be included, may behashed, or otherwise may be encrypted or obscured to prevent end usersand/or search engines from obtaining the URL to the affiliate content.In addition, the URL for the “src” attribute 602 e includes a “guid”parameter 602 k set equal to a “GUID” variable, which is set when themedia player 102 a-1 uses the URL to send a request to playlist server108 c for a playlist. Based on the parameters set in the URL for the“src” attribute 602 e, the playlist server 108 c generates the playlistthat includes the affiliate content and any advertising content.

In the banner portion 604, the <div> tag 604 a with the “id” attribute604 b equal to “lcBannerDiv” is generated to include a banner in thesurrounding web page that is coordinated with the video (see FIG. 7).The “src” attribute 604 c has a value equal to a URL that also points tothe playlist server 108 c, but instead requests the banner to bedisplayed in the surrounding web page (by calling the“getAssociatedContent” function of the playlist server 108 c). Similarto the URL for the “src” attribute 602 e in the video section 604, theURL set in the banner “src” attribute 604 c includes parameters thatdepend on the information provided by the affiliate, or set in theadvertising system 108. For example, the “nwid” parameter 604 d includesthe affiliate id, and the “level” parameter 604 e includes the contentcategory. These parameters are used by the advertising system 108 toselect appropriate banner advertisement(s) to be presented withcorresponding advertising video and/or audio content in the playlist.

FIG. 7 illustrates the resulting display that is generated by code 600in a browser 700. The display includes a media player section 702 and abanner advertisement section 704. The media player section 702 includesan embedded media player 702 a. The banner advertisement section 704includes a banner advertisement 704 a.

The media player 702 a displays the video and/or audio content(editorial and advertising) included in the playlist returned by theplaylist server 108 c in response to the media player 702 a calling the“getPlaylist” function of the playlist server 108 c using the URL in the“src” attribute 602 e. The banner advertisement 704 a is returned to anddisplayed by the browser 700 in response to the browser calling the“getAssociatedContent” function using the URL in the “src” attribute 604c.

FIGS. 8A-8D illustrate examples of webpages that are generated by theregistration component 108 a to register the affiliate, register theaffiliate's content, and to verify and provide the generated code to theaffiliate. In particular, FIG. 8A illustrates an affiliate registrationwebpage 800 presented by the registration component 108 c to obtaininformation from the affiliate to register the affiliate with theadvertising affiliate network. The affiliate registration webpageincludes a section 802 in which the affiliate enters business relatedinformation, such as the affiliate's name, the affiliate's address, andthe URL for the main website from which the affiliate provides editorialcontent. The affiliate registration page 800 also includes a section 804in which the affiliate enters the format of its content, and whether theaffiliate wishes to have banner advertisements displayed with the videoand/or audio content (and, if so, the size of the banneradvertisements).

FIG. 8B illustrates an affiliate content registration webpage 810presented by the registration component 108 c to register a particularpiece of the affiliate's content. The affiliate content registrationwebpage 810 includes a section 812 in which the affiliate enters a namefor the content, a section 814 in which the affiliate enters the URL forthe content, and a section 816 that allows the affiliate to select acategory for the content. The affiliate content registration webpage 810also includes an add button 816, which the affiliate can select tosubmit the content information provided in sections 812-816.

Referring to FIG. 8C, once the affiliate submits the content informationusing the affiliate content registration webpage 810, the registrationcomponent 108 c presents a verification webpage 820 to verify the properoperation of the code generated for the content registered usingaffiliate content registration webpage 810. The verification webpage 820includes a test section 822 produced from the generated code, and averification section 824 used to verify the operation of the code. Thetest section 822 shown includes a media player section 822 a thatincludes a media player 822 a-1 and a banner advertisement section 822 bthat includes a banner advertisement 822 b-1. When the test code isbeing verified, the advertising system 108 is configured, for example,to provide a playlist to media player 822 a-1 that contains an initialvideo that includes a confirmation code, and then the affiliate'scontent. The media player 822 a-1 then presents the initial video andthe affiliate's content. Assuming that this is properly done, theaffiliate then enters the confirmation code shown in the initial videointo a box 824 a in the verification section 824 and selects a continuebutton 824 b in the verification section 824. The advertising system 108then verifies that the confirmation code entered is correct.

Referring to FIG. 8D, after the confirmation code has been verified, theregistration component 108 c returns to the affiliate contentregistration webpage 810. However, at this point, the affiliate contentregistration webpage 810 includes a listing of the registered piece ofcontent. The listing includes the name of the content 826 a, theselected category for the content 826 b, and a link 826 c to thegenerated code so that the affiliate can obtain the code and integrateit into the affiliate's webpage. The listing also contains averification button 826 d, which allows the affiliate to verify theoperation of the generated code again (e.g., if the affiliate isexperiencing problems after integrating the code into its webpage).

Delivering Editorial and Advertising Content

FIGS. 9A-11B illustrate various implementations of the operation ofsystem 100 when delivering editorial and advertising content to clientsystem 102. The implementations shown in FIGS. 9A-11B include variousmechanisms that may prevent client systems from directly accessing theeditorial content, and are based on a situation in which the playlistincludes a piece of advertising content followed by the editorialcontent.

Referring to FIGS. 9A and 9B, in implementation 900, client systems areprevented from directly accessing the editorial content through the useof status messages sent from the client system to the playlist serverwhen the client system presents a video and/or audio media item from theplaylist. In general, the status messages indicate that the clientsystem has presented the corresponding media item and, therefore, allowthe playlist server 108 c to track which media items a particular clientsystem has presented. The affiliate media server 106 then may query theplaylist server 108 c to verify that previous media items in theplaylist where presented before providing the client system with accessto the editorial content.

In particular, when a user of client system 102 selects a particularpiece of editorial content from affiliate website 106 a, the browser 102a sends a request to affiliate website 106 a for the affiliate webpagefor the editorial content (902). The webpage includes the code generatedduring the registration process for the particular piece of editorialcontent. The affiliate website 106 a returns the webpage with the code(904).

When browser 102 a renders the webpage with the code, the media player102 a-1 embedded in the webpage requests the playlist from the playlistserver 108 c (906). The request may include, for example, the contentcategory, a GUID for client system 102, a network affiliate id, anidentifier of the content (e.g., URL), and an indication of the contentformat. The playlist server 108 c accesses the corresponding templateusing information in the request (e.g., selects the template based onthe content category) and uses the template to form a playlist (908).The playlist server 108 c also records the GUID of the client system 102and the associated playlist sent to client system 102 (908). Theplaylist server 108 c then returns the playlist to the media player 102a-1 (910), which uses the playlist to present the content in theplaylist.

To that end, the media player 102 a-1 requests the first item in theplaylist, which in this example is a piece of advertising content. To doso, the media player 102 a-1 sends a request to the advertising mediaserver 108 b for the advertising content (912). The request to theadvertising media server 108 b includes the GUID of the client system102. The advertising media server 108 b then sends a request to theplaylist server 108 c for the playlist status of the client system 102(914). The request to the playlist server 108 c includes the GUID and anidentification of the advertising content requested. The playlist server108 c determines whether the advertising media server 108 b shouldprovide the advertising content to the media player 102 a-1 by checkingwhether the media player 102 a-1 presented the content item in theplaylist that is prior to the requested content (if any) and, if so,whether it was presented within a particular time period (916). In thiscase, the requested advertising content is the first item in theplaylist provided to the media player 102 a-1 by the playlist server 108c and, therefore, the playlist server 108 c responds to the advertisingmedia server 108 b with an indication that the advertising media server108 b should provide the requested advertising content to the mediaplayer 102 a-1 (918). If, on the other hand, the advertising contentrequested by the media player 102 a-1 was not the same as theadvertising content listed in the playlist, the playlist server 108 cwould respond to the advertising media server 108 b with an indicationthat the advertising media server 108 b should not provide the requestedadvertising content to the media player 102 a-1. When the advertisingmedia server 108 b receives the indication that it should provide themedia player 102 a-1 with the advertising content, the advertising mediaserver 108 b returns the advertising content to the media player 102 a-1(920), which then presents the advertising content (922).

Once the media player 102 a-1 presents the advertising content (922),the media player 102 a-1 sends a status message to the playlist server108 c (924). The status message includes an identifier of the contentpresented, the GUID of the client system 102, and a time stamp. Theplaylist server 108 c uses the status message to record that the clientsystem 102 presented the advertising content, and the time that theadvertising content was presented (926).

The media player 102 a-1 then requests the next item in the playlist,which in this example is the editorial content. Thus, the media player102 a-1 sends a request to the affiliate media server 106 b for theeditorial content (928). The affiliate media server 106 b then sends arequest to the playlist server 108 c for the playlist status of theclient system 102 (930). The request to the playlist server 108 cincludes the GUID and an identification of the editorial contentrequested. The playlist server 108 c determines whether the affiliatemedia server 106 b should provide the editorial content to the mediaplayer 102 a-1 by checking whether the media player 102 a-1 presentedthe content item in the playlist that is prior to the requested content(if any) and, if so, whether it was presented within a particular timeperiod (932). In this case, the playlist server 108 c verifies that themedia player 102 a-1 presented the advertising content within thespecified time period and, therefore, the playlist server 108 c respondsto the affiliate media server 106 b with an indication that theaffiliate media server 106 b should provide the requested editorialcontent to the media player 102 a-1 (934). If, on the other hand, theeditorial content requested by the media player 102 a-1 was not the sameas the editorial content listed in the playlist, the advertising contenthad not been presented by the media player 102 a-1, or the advertisingcontent had not been presented within the specified time period, theplaylist server 108 c would respond to the affiliate media server 108 bwith an indication that the affiliate media server 106 b should notprovide the requested editorial content to the media player 102 a-1.When the affiliate media server 106 b receives the indication that itshould provide the media player 102 a-1 with the editorial content, theaffiliate media server 106 b returns the editorial content to the mediaplayer 102 a-1 (936), which then presents the advertising content (938).After presenting the editorial content, the media player 102 a-1 sends astatus message to the playlist server 108 c regarding the editorialcontent (940).

Before, during, or after the presentation of one or more pieces ofadvertising content, the media player 102 a-1 sends one or more auditingmessages to the ad auditor 108 f (942). As described above, the auditingmessages indicate that a particular piece of advertising or editorialcontent was presented to the user, and may indicate the user's behaviorwhile the advertising or editorial content was being presented (e.g.,whether the browser 102 was minimized, whether the user paused the mediaplayer 102 a-1, or whether the media player 102 a-1 was in full screenmode). The auditing messages also may contain other information, such asthe category of editorial content, an identifier of the editorialcontent, and the time that the content is being presented. Thisinformation is used by ad auditor 108 f to provide information about,for example, campaign performance, audience metrics, and audiencebehavior

This information also may be used by the playlist server 108 c to tuneor adjust the template associated with the affiliate's content in amanner that is particular to the affiliate (944). For example, asdescribed above, the template may be adjusted by changing the ratio oramount of advertising content that is presented with the affiliate'scontent. This may allow the advertising system 108 to properly tune theamount of advertising content presented to match the audience's patiencefor advertising in general, or on a time specific basis.

In other implementations, instead of status messages, only auditingmessages may be sent during or after each piece of content is presented.In such an implementation, the auditing messages may be sent to adauditor 108 f instead of playlist server 108 c, and playlist server 108c may access the appropriate information from the ad auditor 108 f whendetermining whether a media server should provide the requested content.

Referring to FIGS. 10A and 10B, in another implementation 1000, theaffiliate media server 106 b generates a dynamic URL for the editorialcontent and then transmits the dynamic URL to the playlist server 108 csuch that the playlist server 108 c includes the dynamic URL in thegenerated playlist. The dynamic URL is valid for a specified timeperiod. Thus, when the client system 102 requests the editorial content,the affiliate media server 106 b verifies that the client system 102obtained the URL used in the request from a playlist by determiningwhether the URL used by the client system 102 is a currently validdynamic URL. Accordingly, even if a search engine spider uncovered thedynamic URL, the dynamic URL would soon expire and, therefore, a userselecting the dynamic URL in a search result could not directly accessthe content.

In particular, when a user of client system 102 selects a particularpiece of editorial content from affiliate website 106 a, the browser 102a sends a request to affiliate website 106 a for the affiliate webpagefor the editorial content (1002). The webpage includes the codegenerated during the registration process for the particular piece ofeditorial content. The affiliate website 106 a returns the webpage withthe code (1004).

When browser 102 a renders the webpage with the code, the media player102 a-1 embedded in the webpage requests the playlist from the playlistserver 108 c (1006). The request may include, for example, the contentcategory, a GUID for client system 102, a network affiliate id, anidentifier of the content, and an indication of the content format. Theplaylist server 108 c then requests a dynamic URL from the affiliatemedia server 106 b (1008). The affiliate media server 106 b generatesthe dynamic URL for the content (1010) and returns the dynamic URL tothe playlist server 108 c (1012).

The playlist server 108 c then accesses the corresponding template usinginformation in the playlist request and uses the template to form aplaylist that includes the dynamic URL (1014). The playlist server 108 cthen returns the playlist to the media player 102 a-1 (1016), which usesthe playlist to present the content in the playlist.

To that end, the media player 102 a-1 requests the first item in theplaylist, which in this example is a piece of advertising content. To doso, the media player 102 a-1 sends a request to the advertising mediaserver 108 b for the advertising content (1018). The advertising mediaserver 108 b returns the advertising content to the media player 102 a-1(1020), which then presents the advertising content (1022). Once themedia player 102 a-1 presents the advertising content (1022), the mediaplayer 102 a-1 sends an auditing message regarding the advertisingcontent to the ad auditor 108 f (1024).

The media player 102 a-1 then requests the next item in the playlist,which in this example is the editorial content. Thus, the media player102 a-1 sends a request to the affiliate media server 106 b for theeditorial content (1026). The request is based on the dynamic URLincluded in the playlist from the playlist server 108 c. The affiliatemedia server 106 b then verifies that the URL used by the client system102 is a valid dynamic URL (1028). In the example shown, the URL used bythe media player 102 a-1 to request the editorial content is the dynamicURL in the playlist and, therefore, the affiliate media server 106 breturns the requested editorial content to the media player 102 a-1(1030), which then presents the editorial content (1032).

After presenting the editorial content, the media player 102 a-1 sendsan auditing message to the playlist server 108 c regarding the editorialcontent (1034). The auditing messages are used to provide informationabout, for example, campaign performance, audience metrics, and audiencebehavior and are used by the playlist server 108 c to tune or adjust thetemplate associated with the affiliate's content in a manner that isparticular to the affiliate (1036).

In an alternate implementation, the playlist server may pass the GUID tothe affiliate media server 106 b when requesting the dynamic URL (1008).The affiliate media server 106 b then associates the dynamic URL withthe GUID (1010). Then, when the media player 102 a-1 requests theeditorial content (1028), it includes the GUID in the request, and theaffiliate media server 106 b verifies that the dynamic URL is stillvalid, and that it is the dynamic URL generated for that particular GUID(1028).

Referring to FIGS. 11A and 11B, in another implementation 100, theplaylist server 108 c appends a mathematically generated content key tothe URL for the editorial content, and includes the URL with themathematically generated content key in the playlist provided to theclient system 102. The URL with the mathematically generated content keyis then used by the client system 102 to request the editorial content,such that the content key is included in the request. The affiliatemedia server 106 b then verifies that the content key is valid and, ifso, returns the editorial content.

In particular, when a user of client system 102 selects a particularpiece of editorial content from affiliate website 106 a, the browser 102a sends a request to affiliate website 106 a for the affiliate webpagefor the editorial content (1102). The webpage includes the codegenerated during the registration process for the particular piece ofeditorial content. The affiliate website 106 a returns the webpage withthe code (1104).

When browser 102 a renders the webpage with the code, the media player102 a-1 embedded in the webpage requests the playlist from the playlistserver 108 c (1106). The request may include, for example, the contentcategory, a GUID for client system 102, a network affiliate id, anidentifier of the content (e.g., the URL of the content or a uniquecontent identifier value), and an indication of the content format.

The playlist server 108 c then generates the content key and creates aplaylist identifier for the editorial content by appending the contentkey to the URL of the editorial content (1108). If the URL is included,in the playlist request (1106), the playlist server simply accesses theURL from the playlist request (1106), generates the key, and appends thekey to the URL. Alternatively, if a unique content identifier value isincluded in the playlist request (1106), the playlist server 108 c usesthe unique content identifier value to look up the URL for the editorialcontent, then generates the content key and appends the key to the URL.

The playlist server 108 c then accesses the corresponding template usinginformation in the playlist request and uses the template to form aplaylist that includes the URL with the content key (1110). The playlistserver 108 c then returns the playlist to the media player 102 a-1(1112), which uses the playlist to present the content in the playlist.

To that end, the media player 102 a-1 requests the first item in theplaylist, which in this example is a piece of advertising content. To doso, the media player 102 a-1 sends a request to the advertising mediaserver 108 b for the advertising content (1114). The advertising mediaserver 108 b returns the advertising content to the media player 102 a-1(1116), which then presents the advertising content (1118). Once themedia player 102 a-1 presents the advertising content (1118), the mediaplayer 102 a-1 sends an auditing message regarding the advertisingcontent o the ad auditor 108 f (1120).

The media player 102 a-1 then requests the next item in the playlist,which in this example is the editorial content. Thus, the media player102 a-1 sends a request to the affiliate media server 106 b for theeditorial content (1122). The request is based on the modified URLincluded in the playlist from the playlist server 108 c such that therequest includes the content key appended to the URL.

The affiliate media server 106 b then verifies that the content keyincluded in the request is valid (1124). In the example shown, thecontent key is valid and, therefore, the affiliate media server 106 breturns the requested editorial content to the media player 102 a-1(1126), which then presents the advertising content (1128).

After presenting the editorial content, the media player 102 a-1 sendsan auditing message to the playlist server 108 c regarding the editorialcontent (1130). The auditing messages are used to provide informationabout, for example, campaign performance, audience metrics, and audiencebehavior and are used by the playlist server 108 c to tune or adjust thetemplate associated with the affiliate's content in a manner that isparticular to the affiliate (1132).

The following describes a particular implementation for generating andvalidating the content key. The implementation uses a 32-bit hashalgorithm, a 32-bit shared key, and the current Greenwich Mean Time(GMT) to generate and validate the key (referred to as CONTENTKEY). Inthis implementation, when the playlist server 108 c receives theplaylist request, it generates the key as follows. A hash algorithm isapplied to the URL for the editorial content to generate a unique 32-bithash (referred to as CONTENTHASH) for the string representing the URL. Ashared (i.e., shared between the affiliate system 106 and theadvertising system 108), private, rotating 32-bit key (referred to asSHAREDKEY) is then XORed against the generated unique 32-bit hash. Thecurrent GMT time in milliseconds (referred to as GMTTIME) is also XORedinto the generated key to generate the CONTENTKEY. The CONTENTKEY isthen appended to the URL for the editorial content as a base-64parameter (referred to as B64PARAM). The URL with the appended B64PARAMis then included in the playlist returned to the client system 102.

The client system 102 then uses the modified URL to request theeditorial content from affiliate media server 106 b such that B64PARAMis included in the request. The affiliate media server 106 b thenconverts the B64PARAM into its 32-bit CONTENTKEY value. The affiliatemedia server 106 b also generates CONTENTHASH from the URL for theeditorial content using the same hashing algorithm that was used by theplaylist server 108 c and XORs the CONTENTKEY with the CONTENTHASH andthe SHAREDKEY. The result is GMTTIME. If retrieved GMTTIME is correctwithin some predefined threshold of the current time, then the editorialcontent is returned by the affiliate media server 106 b. Otherwise theaffiliate media server 106 b returns an error.

The following is an example of this implementation as applied to thefollowing example of a URL for editorial content:

-   -   http://customer.com/media/media_file.wmv.

The URL for requesting the playlist is, for example:

-   -   http://web.lc.net/getPlaylist?content=http://customer.com/media/media_file.wmv        and therefore:    -   CONTENT=http://customer.com/media/media_file.wmv        CONTENTHASH, SHAREDKEY, AND GMTTIME have the following values,        for example:    -   CONTENTHASH=01101011000101001110001101100010    -   SHAREDKEY=01101001010011100110101001001011    -   GMTTIME=01000011001010100111010110100111        The playlist server 108 c then calculates:

CONTENTKEY=CONTENTHASH

SHAREDKEY

GMTTIME

If the base-64 version of the CONTENTKEY is ‘F3G7HPqT5’, then this URLis returned in the playlist:

-   -   http://customer.com/media/media_file.wmv?ckey=F3G7HPqT5

On the affiliate media server 106 b, this base-64 value is turned backinto the CONTENTKEY and then the affiliate media server 106 bcalculates:

GMTTIME=CONTENTKEY

CONTENTHASH

SHAREDKEY

Once GMTTIME is obtained, the affiliate media server 106 b thendetermines if it falls within the pre-set threshold of the current timein order to determine whether to return the editorial content to theclient system 102.

The techniques described above are not limited to any particularhardware or software configuration. Rather, they may be implementedusing hardware, software, or a combination of both. The methods andprocesses described may be implemented as computer programs that areexecuted on programmable computers comprising at least one processor andat least one data storage system. The programs may be implemented in ahigh-level programming language and may also be implemented in assemblyor other lower level languages, if desired.

Any such program will typically be stored on one or more computer-usablestorage media or devices (for example, CD-ROM, RAM, or magnetic disk).When read into the processor of the computer and executed, theinstructions of the program cause the programmable computer to carry outthe various operations described above.

A number of implementations have been described. Nevertheless, it willbe understood that various modifications may be made. For example,elements of one or more implementations may be combined, deleted,supplemented, or modified to form further implementations. As anexample, the implementation of FIG. 10 or 11 may be combined with theimplementation of FIG. 9, such that the dynamic URL or the content keyare used in conjunction with verifying that the playlist is beingfollowed.

In addition, while implementations have been described that useweb-based access to content, other mechanisms may be used. For example,other editorial content delivery mechanisms may additionally oralternately be supported by system 100 or variations of system 100,including video-on-demand (VOD), internet protocol television (IPTV),media center PCs, and mobile streaming media. Similarly, while the abovediscussion describes a system in which affiliates make their contentavailable on their own website, other implementations may include theaffiliates making audio or video content available for end userconsumption by, for example, submitting content for search engineindexing, or providing content for viewing by selection on a portal.

Accordingly, other implementations are within the scope of the followingclaims.

1-21. (canceled)
 22. A method comprising the following operations performed by one or more processors: receiving, from a client system, a request for media content; selecting, in response to the request for media content, advertising content based on one or more selection rules; generating a playlist, the playlist including at least a first identifier and a second identifier, the first identifier identifying the selected advertising content, and the second identifier identifying the media content; determining whether the advertising content is presented on the client system within a predetermined time period; providing access to the media content associated with the second identifier when the advertising content is determined to be presented within a first predetermined time period; and preventing access to the media content associated with the second identifier when the advertising content is not determined to be presented within the first predetermined time period.
 23. The method of claim 22, further comprising: receiving, from the client system, an audit message indicating a behavior of the client system when the advertising content or the media content is being presented.
 24. The method of claim 23, further comprising: updating the one or more selection rules at least partially based on the audit message.
 25. The method of claim 22, further comprising: receiving, from the client system, a status message indicating a time that the advertising content was presenting on the client system.
 26. The method of claim 22, wherein the request for the media content comprises at least one of an identification of the client system or an identification of a host of the media content.
 27. The method of claim 22, wherein the request for the media content comprises a uniform source locator for the media content.
 28. The method of claim 22, further comprising: determining a category of the requested media content, wherein the one or more selection rules are provided at least partially based on the category of the media content.
 29. The method of claim 22, wherein the one or more selection rules are provided at least partially based on a number of client systems requesting the media content within a second predetermined time period.
 30. The method of claim 22, wherein the one or more selection rules are provided at least partially based on a geographic location of the client system.
 31. A system of providing access to media content, comprising: a memory that stores instructions; and one or more processors that are configured to execute the instructions to cause the system to: receive, from a client system, a request for media content; select, in response to the request for media content, advertising content based on the one or more selection rules; generate a playlist, the playlist including at least a first identifier and a second identifier, the first identifier identifying the selected advertising content, and the second identifier identifying the media content; determine whether the advertising content is presented on the client system within a predetermined time period; provide access to the media content associated with the second identifier when the advertising content is determined to be presented within a first predetermined time period; and prevent access to the media content associated with the second identifier when the advertising content is not determined to be presented within the first predetermined time period.
 32. The system of claim 31, wherein the instructions are further executed by the one or more processors to: receive, from the client system, an audit message indicating a behavior of the client system when the advertising content or the media content is being presented.
 33. The system of claim 32, wherein the instructions are further executed by the one or more processors to: update the one or more selection rules at least partially based on the audit message.
 34. The system of claim 31, wherein the instructions are further executed by the one or more processors to: receive, from the client system, a status message indicating a time that the advertising content was presenting on the client system.
 35. The system of claim 31, wherein the request for the media content comprises at least one of an identification of the client system or an identification of a host of the media content.
 36. The system of claim 31, wherein the request for the media content comprises a uniform source locator for the media content.
 37. The system of claim 31, wherein the instructions are further executed by the one or more processors to: determine a category of the requested media content, wherein the one or more rules for advertising content selection are provided at least partially based on the category of the media content.
 38. The system of claim 31, wherein the one or more selection rules are provided at least partially based on a number of client systems requesting the media content within a second predetermined time period.
 39. The system of claim 31, wherein the one or more selection rules are provided at least partially based on a geographic location of the client system.
 40. A non-transitory computer readable medium embodying a computer program product, the computer program product comprising instructions configured to cause a computing device to perform the following operations: receiving, from a client system, a request for media content; selecting, in response to the request for media content, advertising content based on the one or more selection rules; generating a playlist, the playlist including at least a first identifier and a second identifier, the first identifier identifying the selected advertising content, and the second identifier identifying the media content; determining whether the advertising content is presented on the client system within a predetermined time period; providing access to the media content associated with the second identifier when the advertising content is determined to be presented within a first predetermined time period; and preventing access to the media content associated with the second identifier when the advertising content is not determined to be presented within the first predetermined time period.
 41. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 40, wherein the method comprising: receiving, from the client system, an audit message indicating a behavior of the client system when the advertising content or the media content is being presented; and updating the one or more selection rules at least partially based on the audit message. 